Architecture/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby A boy, Tim, is sitting on a tree branch, hammering a nail into a treehouse. A robot, Moby, is standing on the ground, and extends his arm up to hand Tim a letter. TIM: Oh, hey, Moby. Thanks. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, When I go on vacation I see lots of different types of buildings. Why do they all look so different? Thanks, Kenji. TIM: Well, over thousands of years, people have come up with about a zillion ways to make buildings and shelters: just like this tree house. Since there have been so many people with so many ideas, a lot of those buildings have very different styles. An image of a city skyline shows buildings with various architectural styles. TIM: Often, different styles represent the building trends of certain cultures or time periods. A split image shows a traditional Asian building on one side and a modern skyscraper on the other. TIM: But a unique building design can just as easily be an outgrowth of its designer's imagination! Images show a classical building with columns, a skyscraper, a brick house, and a large yellow house with a turret. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yup, I was just getting to that. Today, the art and science of planning buildings is called architecture. Every building or structure you can think of; the house you live in, the school you go to every day, the restaurants you eat in, or even the stadium you visit for sports and concerts; was designed by someone called an architect. Images show the four kinds of buildings Tim describes. TIM: An architect makes sure that a new building or structure follows three basic principles. First, it's got to be structurally sound, meaning it won't fall apart or get damaged by natural hazards. Knowing the natural dangers of a particular area; like hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods; is a really important part of designing a building. An animation shows a house staying intact during a hurricane, earthquake, and heavy rain. A different building is blown away in the hurricane and another floats by in flood water. TIM: An architect also makes sure that a building is designed for the function it's intended to serve. Like you might only need two or three bathrooms for a house, but for a stadium with 50,000 seats, you'd better plan for more than that! An image shows anxious-looking people waiting in a long line for the bathroom. TIM: Last but not least, architects use different methods to make sure their designs have good aesthetics. That's the way the building looks and feels. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, no one wants a building to look ugly. In fact, architecture is one of the oldest known art forms, although the first buildings were mostly about protecting people from the elements. Prehistoric structures were made from stones and boulders. An image shows a structure built with stones. TIM: Ancient civilizations, like those in Mesoamerica and the Middle East, used stone too, as well as materials like brick and clay. Split images show both clay and brick pyramids. TIM: Classical architecture is what we talk about when we think of the buildings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. An image shows the Roman Colosseum. TIM: Medieval architecture including Romanesque, Gothic, and Tudor styles, were popular in the middle ages. Images show examples of the three styles of architecture Tim names. TIM: And Renaissance architecture tended to combine perfect mathematical proportions, domes, and classic columns. An image shows an example of Renaissance architecture. TIM: Around 1900 came the rise of modern architecture, which began a trend toward more simply-shaped buildings, as well as ones whose designs seemed to come from pretty wacky imaginations. An image shows a tall, box-like building. TIM: Some of the most well-known architects came out of the modern era. Swiss architect Le Corbusier designed homes and furniture in a minimalist style. He also believed that modern architecture could reduce overcrowding and poverty in big cities. An image shows Le Corbusier with a building he designed. TIM:: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a German architect, favored a more industrial-looking style, with simple lines and lots of glass. An image shows Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with a building he designed. TIM: Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí had a somewhat, uh, gaudy style; he took influences from earlier periods and put them into his inventive designs. An image shows Antoni Gaudí with a building he designed. TIM: And American Frank Lloyd Wright popularized simple geometric patterns that often complemented the natural surroundings of his buildings. An image shows Frank Lloyd Wright with a building he designed: the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh, sure, there have been tons of architects blazing new styles since then. Postmodern architecture is the period from around the 1950s to today; it's sort of like the cutting edge of architectural design. An image shows a sample of postmodern architecture—the Opera House in Sydney, Australia. TIM:One of the postmodern greats is Iraqi-British designer Zaha Hadid. Her style is sleek and modern, and her buildings are usually super curvy or extremely sharp. Or sometimes both. An image shows Zaha Hadid with a building she designed. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it's like they're from a science fiction movie. My favorite of the new architects is a guy named Frank Gehry. Whenever I look at his buildings I feel like they're part of a dream sequence or something. An image shows Frank Gehry with a building he designed. It has curves and almost looks like it’s moving. TIM: Anyway, I'd better get back to my tree house here. Tim sits on a branch, holding a hammer. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, what's up? Moby is sitting on a tree branch with his own tree house: a beautiful Asian pagoda. TIM: What? How did you do that?Category:BrainPOP Arts & Music Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Transcripts